Typewriter support



July 29, 1941.

F. E. ON EAL TYPEWRIIY'ER SUPPORT Filed Aug. 5. 1

4 Sheefps-Sheet 3 I r Inventor 54 z an 1 a By wm A ttorney July 29, 1941. F. E.'ONEAL TYPEWRITER' SUPPORT Filed Aug. 5 1940 ill'lK A iiorney Patented July 29, 1941 UNITED s1" ear 7 met 3 Claims.

This invention relates to typewriter supports of the type employed on a desk or similar piece of furniture wherein it is desired to support the typewriter entirely within or outside of the desk for use, and has for the primary object the provision of a device of the above stated character which will be extremely simple .to install and will permit a person with a minimum amount of effort to position the typewriter for use or within the desk and when supporting the typewriter for use will maintain said typewriter free of vibration or accidental movement and at a height comfortable for the operator sitting at the desk.

With these and other'objects in view as will become more apparent as .the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a transverse sectional'view showing a desk equipped with a typewriter support constructed in accordance with my invention and showing the typewriter located within a compartment of the desk.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the typewriter located in operative position outside of the desk supported by the present invention.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing the typewriter support associated with the desk.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view illus- Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating counterbalance springs and their mountings to coact with the counterbalance weight in the modified form of my invention.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the

numeral 5 indicates a desk provided with the usual compartment 6 to receive a typewriter 1 when not in use. There have been many devices devised for the mounting of a typewriter for movement into and out of a compartment. All of such devices to my knowledge are expensive to construct, rather diflic-ult to install and require unnecessary effort on the part of a person to move the typewriter into and out of the desk.

In the present invention these disadvantages are eliminated. v

Horizontally arranged tracks 8 are mounted in the compartment 6 at a selected distance between the top and bottom of the desk. The tracks 8 are of the channel type to receive rollers 9 of a carriage In so that said carriage may slide freely towardsand from the doorway of the desk which is indicated generally by the character 'A. The carriage in this instance is of a skeleton formation, consisting primarily of side members and the axles for the rollers, the axles connectingsaid side members together.

Operating in conjunction with the carriage It] is an elongated shelf l on which the typewriter I is mounted. Depending members l2 and [3 are secured to .the shelf adjacent the inner end thereof and depends belowthe carriage while the shelf is disposed in a plane thereabove. "Shafts M are journaled on the depending members I2 and project beyond the ends thereof, as clearly shown in the drawings.

Secured on the shaft M carried by the depending member [3 is a pair of substantially v -shaped levers l5 extending above and. below the tracks and which are pivotally connected 'to the carriage II], as shown at l6. V

A pair of levers ll shaped similar tothe levers l5 are pivotally mounted on the carriage, as shown at 18, and extend above and belowthe carriage and have their lower ends secured on the shaft l4 carried by the depending member l2 of the shelf ll. Connecting links l9 pivotally connect the levers l5 and i1. Integral with the levers I! are arms I9 which extend at an angle to said levers I1 and are connected by a rod 20 on which are mounted weights 2| each of cylindrical formation and enclosing said weights is a casing 22 carried by the rod 20. When the shelf is disposed in the compartment 6 the weights 2! are disposed uppermost in the compartment and when the shelf II is disposed outwardly of the compartment and raised to an operative position to permit convenient use of the typewriter by a person sitting at the desk the counterbalance weights are in a lowered position. The movement of the counterbalance weights from the positions specified is for the purpose of counterbalancing the weight of the typewriter and shelf I I so that the shelf may be raised and lowered with a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator, also permitting the shelf to be raised and lowered smoothly without the use of springs or similar tensioning devices which tend to work with an irregular movement or snap action.

The shelf II has secured thereon an upstanding bracket 23 which is adapted to move into a groove 24 formed in the desk when the shelf is positioned exteriorly of the desk and in an elevated position so as to aid in maintaining the shelf against vibration or accidental movement.

In operation, it is to be understood that the shelf H is slid horizontally out of the compartment 6 by the operator, the carriage and the counter-balancing means moving therewith with the weights disposed uppermost. After the shelf II has been brought out of the compartment 6 of the desk, the operator with a minimum amount of effort raises the shelf upwardly until the bracket 23 enters the groove 24. During this upward movement of the shelf the counterbalance weights swing downwardly aiding in assisting the upward movement of the shelf by the operator. The typewriter then is in proper position for use and when it is desired to reinstate the typewriter within the compartment, the shelf is moved downwardly in a vertical plane, the counterbalance weights at this time swing upwardly. After the shelf has been lowered to a proper distance to permit the typewriter to clear the doorway the shelf is then moved in-" wardly of the compartment by the carriage traveling on the tracks with a minimum amount of friction, consequently employing only a minimum amount of effort on the part of the operator.

Referring to my modified form of the invention as shown in Figures 5a to 9, inclusive, the same shelf and tracks are employed as well as the carriage, also the levers I1. However, in this form of the invention the levers I! are located forwardly on the carriage and are secured to the shaft M on the depending member [2 of the shelf. Levers 25 similar to the levers l! are pivotally mounted on the rear of the carriage and have their lower ends secured on the shaft l4 carried by the depending member I3 of the shelf. The levers I! and 25 are connected by connecting links 25 which are pivotally connected to said levers at their upper ends. The levers 25 have integral therewith arms 21 somewhat shorter than the arms l9 and disposed at a slight angle to the levers 25. The arms 25 have the weights connected thereto as described in connection with the other form of my invention.

The pivots for the levers l1 and 25 are in the form of shafts 28 carried by the side mem bers of the carriage and the shaft which pivotally supports the lever 25 has mounted thereon coil springs 29. The adjacent ends of the coil springs are connected to a member 30 fastened on the shaft of the levers 25 while the other ends of the springs are secured to the levers 25 above the carriage. The purpose of the springs 29 is to coact with the weights on the arms 21 in counterbalancing the typewriter on the shelf during the movement of the shelf from its uppermost position to its lowermost position. By using the springs 29 it is possible to use lighter counterbalance weights.

The operation of the modified form of my invention is in accordance with the operation described in connection with the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, and it is, therefore, not thought necessary to again state the operation of the device.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a typewriter support, horizontally arranged tracks, a carriage slidably mounted on said tracks, a typewriter shelf, depending members on said shelf, substantially V-shaped levers pivoted on the carriage and to the depending members and arranged in pairs, links pivotally connecting the pairs of levers, and counterbalance m-eans connected to one of said pairs of levers.

2. In a typewriter support, horizontally arranged tracks, a carriage slidably mounted on said tracks, a typewriter shelf, depending members on said shelf, substantially V-shaped levers pivoted on the carriage and to the depending members and arranged in pairs, links pivotally connecting the pairs of levers, and arms integral with one of said pairs of levers, and counterbalance weights connected to said arms.

3. In a typewriter support, horizontally arranged tracks, a carriage slidably mounted on said tracks, a typewriter shelf, depending members on said shelf, substantially V-shaped levers pivoted on the carriage and to the depending members and arranged in pairs, links pivotally connecting the pairs of levers, arms integral with one of said pairs of levers, counterbalance weights connected to said arms, and spring means connected to the last-named pair of levers to coact with the weights in counterbalancing the shelf in its movement towards and from the carriage.

FRANK E. ONEAL. 

